Attention Haiti

Hopefully you don’t need me to tell you that the people of Haiti are in dire need of our help right now. Not since the tsunami disaster in 2004 has the world needed to respond in such a way. The cruelty of such a devastating earthquake hitting such a desperately poor country is unfathomable for us. Donations are needed in abundance and in double-quick time. Sure, we’re all poor too, but chances are if you’re reading this, you’re not poor like the Haitian people are and you’ll find a way to give your little bit. Of course, at times like this there’s no shortage of wonderful people giving their time to raise money in all sorts of ways, so you don’t even need to part with your cash begrudgingly.

If you haven’t heard of Attention Bébé before then you clearly haven’t been listening to me or I’ve been talking to myself. That second one is more likely. Anyway, the Bébés have hurried their many brains into action to help raise money for Haiti as soon as possible. They’ll be putting on a big auld bash in the Button Factory on Friday night with the help of a few friends. The venue is charging nothing for the hire for the night and obviously all the performers are donating their time and funky, funky beats for free. That means every last crumb of your €10 admission will go straight to Partners In Health, who are an incredible charity who have been working in Haiti for more than 20 years. The most reassuring thing though is that they have proven that 94% of their income goes directly to where it’s needed rather than funding administration and whatnot. You won’t find many better deals in this here city of ours than that. You give €10, of which €9.40 will be put to use on the ground in Haiti where it’s needed and in exchange you’ll get a serious night’s worth of fun and dancing! If you’ve still not caught on to the 90’s pop bonanza of the Attention Bébé live show, then you really have no excuse for not resolving that issue this weekend. A more talented and thoroughly loveable bunch of musicians you will not find in this country. Along with them for the night are the excellent Mob Fandango, who I saw bringing the house down in The Lower Deck not too long ago with their soulful, funky party tunes.

If that doesn’t sound like your “bag”, and you’re the kind of person who says “bag”, you could try any number of other Haiti benefit gigs out. Foggy Notions have two confirmed in Whelan’s in February. The first, on Sunday 14th looks like a raucous trad/folk affair that’ll have Andy Irvine, The Spook of the Thirteenth Lock, Mumblin Deaf Ro, The Hounds & Big Monster Love entertaining the Valentine’s masses. The following week, the more modern indie/electronic minded can vent your anger at the Choice Music Prize nominees together when David Kitt, Jape (solo electronic), Legion of Two, Patrick Kelleher & Goodtime John play some songs for your muc-needed cash. Tickets for both of those re €15 so if you’re going to go, maybe buy them sooner rather than later s the money is urgently needed right away. There’s plenty of other gigs and events going on around the country, with many of the listed here, if you want to get out and about to support the Haitian people.
Or you could just stay right where you are and click this link to the Partners In Health website and donate money to them without having to deal with any awkward social situations.

Completely unrelated and all that, but I’ve been listening to The Antlers brilliant Hospice album a fair bit lately and the standout track “Two” was in my head while typing this up. It’s some powerful stuff, so I’d recommend giving it a go. You can grab “Two” below and check out the cool animated video here… but only if you donate money to PIH. Please.